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Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)'s top decision-making body, the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha has started a three-day meeting in Gujarat. The event will see the participation of nearly 1,200 leaders from across the country, including sarsanghchalak (RSS chief) Mohan Bhagwat and sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale.
One of the key focus areas of the meeting is the expansion of the organisation's base, said Manmohan Vaidya, sah sarkaryavah (joint general secretary) of the RSS.
According to the PTI news agency, the RSS runs nearly 60,000 shakhas (branches) across the country and 97.5% shakhas started working again after an ease in Covid-19 related curbs.
"Those who attend these 60,000 shakhas constitute 61% of school or college students. This shows that the number of youths taking interest in the RSS is increasing. 94% of the total 2,303 cities in the country have shakhas. It shows that our spread is increasing," RSS joint secretary Vaidya said.
He said that the RSS is planning to expand its base and work for establishing shakhas in all the mandals. There are 59,000 madals in the country, each mandal comprises 10 to 12 villages.
Between 2017 and 2021, as many as 1 lakh to 1.25 lakh persons expressed desire to join the RSS every year, he said, adding that people from Malwa (central India) and West Bengal had sent more requests in comparison to other regions in 2021. A detailed plan about the expansion of the RSS's base will be prepared during this three-day meet.
(With PTI inputs)
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